Slopbot pooping on the rug....again!

[chunkstyle]

Coupla things noticed while getting started with some lengthy cutting sessions.
I had accidently punched in JY,94 and realized right away I meant JX,94.
No worries, the prox. switch will keep it from "BLAM"!
Y car blew right past the prox switches and into the stops.
Huh! weird...wonder if it would do it with the X axis: "BLAMMO!"....sure did.

O.K. fine. Need to get these door panels carved. Dont have time to sit down in the mud and figure out this latest issue. Been a good run with the machine so why not try and get to the other side of this job and then look into it.

Cut panel out last night after 10 hrs. Come in this morning and run the gantry around using manual control. Suddenly gantry is moving out of control and heading my way. Hitting panick button with but all I see on the screen is a 'missing com" error. BLAMMO! Gantry hits the stops.

AWW ****! Hope I can get this panel's outline cut file done so I can get it into finishing. Rebooted computer, launched SB3, loaded outline cut file for panel, hit O.K. in the fill in sheet and get an error message. Says file does not exist.

File path is mis directed in error message. It's pointing at the D drive (backup) and not the C drive, which is where I pointed SB3 at to load file.

Don't know if the two issues are related or not but would anyone have any advice on where to start looking for solutions for getting the machine back up on the road?

Any advice will be appreciated.

Tim

[Brady Watson]

Sounds like your computer is borked. Maybe it should be wiped and reinstalled with only SB3 and PWorks and NOTHING else...and then your USB hardware beefed up to PCI to USB card and 2.0 hub, with 12' or less of cable.

In the meantime...pull your Jog speeds down to 12-15 IPS. I hope you are not nailing the stops faster than that.

-B

[adrianm]

Is the backup drive internal or on USB?

[chunkstyle]

Thanks for the responses.

I hope it's under control now. I went and backed up my SB3 settings and uninstalled. Downloaded the latest SB3 from the website. Reloaded settings and custom files. Checked that the Z-zero and X,Y zero routines were functioning accurately.
Next checked to see if the file would load and it didnt. Realized there was an '&' in the file name. Deleted the '&' . File loaded fine.
Havnt checked to see if the prox switches are working correctly yet. My jogs are 6 ips (just a standard prs). I don't think it was blowing thru the switches on both axis due to this jog speed. Like wise I'm not sure what caused the machine to lose com when I was moving the gantry around with the key pad. I'm hoping the uninstall/ reinstalling of SB3 has gotten rid of the gremlins. Won't try the jogging thru prox switches untill I can get the rest of the door panels cut out. I've got 5 more to cut for 2 interior doors. The attached is one of the simpler motifs getting carved so I've got alot more cutting to get thru.
Nothing like being trapped between a jogging gantry and a pile of plywood at the end of the table. Something to think about while operating this machine :eek:.

[chunkstyle]

Oh yeah, Brady,

Computers only running SB3, E-cab link, and CCCleaner. No other software is running on this machine. It's a G.C.Computer model.

[myxpykalix]

If it continues pooping you need to swat it with a rolled up newspaper for starters...:eek:

One thing i do in case of situations like this where you don't want to lose work if you lose all settings is, prior to starting work i do a C3 to find table Zero.

Then i manually jog over to my material X,Y zero (I usually set mine in the center of material). I then write down those X,Y coordinates. Then I Zero X,Y.

So now if the gremlins sneak in on me during or between cuts all i have to do is go back do a C3, MX24, MY24 (or whatever the numbers are) and i'm back to manual center of the material even though all settings were lost like in your situation.

[garyc]

Tim...
Your VN (limit switches) may be turned off due to your previous comm and stop hit issues. You may have forgotten that all the files you need to fix any of those similar "gremlin" type issues are on your computer. Takes less time than it took to write your "poopy" post.

In case you have forgotten, here is the instructions, again! ;) http://www.shopbotblog.com/index.php/2011/09/the-5-minute-software-fix/


P.S. Dont forget to remind Kim to remind YOU to read the instructions!!! :D:D

[chiloquinruss]

Hey Gary when I bought my machine Ted never said I had to READ anything! :) Russ

[chiloquinruss]

Back to the issue, if I enter move or jog commands I don't ever lose comm however I have a usb keyboard that I use as a remote keyboard / pad and if I hold down the arrow keys or whatever all bets are off. Could be your keypad is stumbling and not the software or da' bot. Just a thought. Russ

[chunkstyle]

Hey Gary,
Your instructions on saving settings and backing up SB parts file is printed out, three ring punched and inserted in my manual. It was the first thing I did to remedy the situation. HAH! (and thanks!)
Russ, the keyboard has always worked well in the past but I agree that it doesn't gurantee future results. Oddly, when the gantry was rolling towards the x-0 direction I did catch a look at the screen and noticed it said 'missing com error' or something close to that. My attention was a bit distracted at that moment. The result was it banged into the safety stops after going thru the prox switches. Very odd. Don't know if that is keyboard related, sb3, or something else. I'll look into it more after I get on the other side of this cutting session.

[garyc]

Tim...
Any chance you were using a shopvac on the table just before the comm error happened?

[chunkstyle]

Gary,

No shop vacuuming but the D.C. was on for about 1 minute.